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A 50-year-old woman suffering from post-Covid complications died Friday evening on her way to Kanpur hospital, when she was reportedly stuck in traffic for nearly two hours due to roadblocks set in place for President Ram Nath Kovinds convoy.
Kanpur Police Station apologized and said the incident was a great lesson for the future. Tweeting from his official account, he said the president expressed distress over the death.
Vandana Mishra, president of the women’s wing of the Kanpur branch of the Indian Industries Associations (IIA), was on her way to a private hospital when her vehicle got stuck in traffic, between the intersection of Nand Lal and the Govindpuri bridge in the city.
There was a lot of traffic and several roads were blocked due to the president’s visit to Kanpur. It took us almost two hours to reach the hospital, a distance that normally takes 20 to 30 minutes. Some policemen tried to help us and let our vehicle pass, but because the traffic jam was so long, we couldn’t pass, said her husband, Sharad Mishra (58).
At the hospital, doctors declared her dead on arrival and said she could have been saved if she had been brought in 20 minutes earlier, he said.
In a tweet, Kanpur Police Station said: The Honorable President expressed his distress over the untimely death of Vandana Mishra. He called the Kanpur Police Commissioner and the District Magistrate to inquire about the incident and expressed his grief. He asked officials to make sure his message reaches the family. He said officials attended the funeral and passed on Kovind’s message.
Kanpur City Police and I ask for forgiveness… This is a great lesson for the future. We are committed to ensuring that our route is such that citizens have to wait as little time as possible so that such incidents do not recur, the Kanpur Police Station tweeted.
Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun said four police officers were suspended for blocking traffic beyond the allotted time. There should be no problem for citizens due to safety, especially in a medical emergency. We are taking steps to improve arrangements so that such an incident does not happen again, he said in a statement.
Kanpur’s Deputy Police Commissioner (Traffic) BBGTS Murthy said the incident was under investigation.
A police officer said several roads were blocked due to the movement of VIPs on Friday. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel were both in town to welcome Kovind. He said the road where Mishra’s vehicle got stuck was among the roads that had to be blocked under the security protocol.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Division IIA Kanpur President Alok Agarwal said Mishra tested positive in early April and developed post-Covid complications.
He said Mishra went to the hospital on Friday morning for tests. She returned home around 4 p.m. but complained of nausea and discomfort around 6 p.m., he said.
Then they left for the hospital. They were delayed because there was so much traffic. She vomited while in the vehicle, he said, adding that a family member, a doctor, had even performed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
The cremation took place on Saturday morning. Mishra is survived by her husband and two sons Varad (27) and Utsav (22).
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